The Real Value of a Pound of Fat

There are a lot of pictures like this on the internet, and it is freaking me out.

Nutrition is a young science. A friend recently lent me a book that presented itself as a radical departure from commonly accepted knowledge, but as I read the preamble and introduction, a lot of the topics the author hit upon have been explored, picked apart and analyzed over the past decade or so by the likes of Michael Pollen and others traveling in his wake. I looked at the publication date and indeed, the book was from 1999 - ancient in terms of the discussion of nutrition. Nutritional science seems to be in a very awkward phase right now -- it is starting to know enough to know just how little in knows.

One common idea that has been taken as true is that a pound of calories is worth about 3,500 calories. That means if you were to burn 3,500 calories more than you consume, you will lose one pound. And from a very rudimentary perspective, it is true. One pound of any pure fat, whether it is olive oil, purified butter, animal fat or, say, human fat, if it were to be combusted in a calorie-measuring furnace device, indeed it would register about 3,500 calories. Science. But the human body, unfortunately, is not a nice square furnace with electrodes and digital read outs.

The formula comes from a simple truth: there are 3,500 calories in a pound of human fat, explains Dr. Donald Hensrud, chair of preventive medicine at the Mayo Clinic and medical editor-in-chief of The Mayo Clinic Diet. But diet and exercise cause the body to lose lean tissue and water along with fat, making it unlikely that initial weight loss truly addresses fat only. What's more, individual metabolic rates vary based on genetics, fitness level and even size: for example, a heavier person also has more muscle mass and requires more calories. The 3,500 calorie deficit will simply have a more dramatic effect on them, explains Hensrud.

When the body burns energy, it doesn't only burn fat. If you push yourself too far physically or starve yourself, your body will also start consuming your muscles, bones and internal organs to stay alive. It is not fully understood how far a person has to go to stay with just fat burning before the body looks elsewhere. Though the research is not in, it has been suggested that restricting calories is more efficient in getting the body to look for fat cells first than doing more and burning more calories, in which the speed at which fat can be accessed may be too slow and trigger the breakdown of muscles and stuff.

The take away seems to be that moderate calorie restriction and moderate exercise spread out over a long period of time will most likely result in the loss of fat, particularly if you are already have an excess of fat -- some trim person with a mental health issues looking to get rid of the last 3 oz of fat is much more likely to reduce muscle and things other than fat. It's when you start tinkering and getting impatient is where the bad stuff seems to happen. This may not be science-fact yet, but intuition seems to be pointing in that direction.

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2698
An emotional week, but I got some riding in, spent quality time with kids, kept my eating reasonable, and made a little progress in the matters disrupting my life the most.

MONDAY COUNT: 2840

SLEPT: 9pm - 4:45am, 7.75 hrs

AM SNACK: 5am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 9:45am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 11am, Fage whole yogurt with honey, almonds, vanilla, 450 cal

LUNCH: 1:30pm, falafel, potato leek soup, health salad, pickles, 700 cal

PM SNACK : 3:30pm, momma salad, Grazebox cashews , 320 cal

DINNER: 5:45pm, mahi mahi, asparagus, poppa salad with creamy balsamic, 490 cal

EVENING SNACK: 6:30pm, Mili birthday cupcake, 220 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7:30pm, popcorn, +/- 300 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, kind bar, 200 cal
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TUESDAY COUNT: 2905

SLEPT: 9:30pm-5:30am, 8hr
Started to feel a bit down and maybe physically ill at the end of the day, over ate to just relieve the pressure. Good thing dinner was light.

AM SNACK: 6am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 8:30am,  Steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal

LUNCH: 1:30pm, chicken meatballs, lentil curry, steamed string beans, pickles, kind bar,  880 cal

PM SNACK: 5pm, momma salad, 100 cal

DINNER: 6:30pm, shrimp with shiritaki noodles and shitake mushrooms, poppa salad with creamy balsamic, 515 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8:30pm, chocolate chips & cashews, veggie straws, almond butter, child granola bar, +/- 800 cal
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BIKE CREDIT: 1740
WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2455

SLEPT: 9:30pm-6:30am, 9hr
65 mile bike ride, then root canal. Hence both the pint of ice cream AND a reasonable day count.

AM SNACK: 6:45am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 9:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10:30am,  Fage whole yogurt with honey, almonds, vanilla, 450 cal

BIKE SNACK: 1pm, granola bar, 235 cal

BIKE SNACK: 1:45pm, granola bar, 235 cal

BIKE SNACK: 2:30pm, chocolate peanut butter brownie, +/- 600 cal

DINNER: 5pm, chiptole burrito, chips & salsa, poppa salad with creamy balsamic, 1605 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7:30pm, pint of chocolate Haagen Daaaz, 910 cal
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THURSAY COUNT: 3010

SLEPT: 11pm-5:45am, 6.75hr
Spent the morning cooking, the afternoon presenting and hosting, pretty good day.

AM SNACK: 6am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 7:45am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10:45am,  Steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal

PM SNACK: 12:30pm, momma salad, Grazbox nutmix, 300 cal

LINNER: 4:30pm, eggplant tomato soup, butternutsquash & tahini spread on hearty bread, goat cheese, water, +/- 800 cal

PM SNACK: 6pm,  a little chocolate and raspberries, +/- 100 cal

DUNCH: 8pm, eggplant and tomato soup with 2 meat balls, +/- 800 cal

EVENING SNACK: 11:30pm, bunniegrams, 400 cal

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FRIDAY COUNT: 2280

SLEPT: 12:15am-6am, 5.75hr
Good day, lots of kid activity, reflected in the food, but I was able to keep it on a leash, partially due to feeling bleah from lack of sleep...

AM SNACK: 6:15am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 7:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10:45am,  Steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal

LUNCH: 12:30pm, 1 slice streetza, +/-400 cal

PM SNACK: 1:30pm, momma salad, Grazbox nutmix, 270 cal

DINNER: 5:15pm, hotdog, fries, ice cream, water +/- 1000 cal